Chapter 016: Entering V
Q: How has your life changed after the blind date?
Wen Jiajia: Not much has changed.
In this age without mobile phones, the time cost of communicating between two communes was quite high.
If you rely on your own two feet, it will take at least two and a half hours to get from Fuyang Brigade to Hegou Township.
Even with a bicycle, it would take about 40 minutes.
Not to mention the autumn harvest was coming soon. Even when Wei Dai came back for vacation, he couldn't escape helping his family with chores. He didn't have the time to travel between the two communes.
Just one day before the autumn harvest, Wei Dai came again to repair tractors for the commune.
Early in the morning, Wen Jiajia did not go to work.
She didn't go to work these two days. She was grinding oak, planning to make some oak cake slices to store and eat slowly.
After learning that this thing is edible, she went to learn how to make it from Aunt Zhang next door. Aunt Zhang generously shared several methods and highly recommended the Castanopsis Kusanagi Kushi slices.
How to make it? It's quite simple, just like making tofu.
However, the bitter oak has shells, so you need to expose the fruit to the sun to remove the shells first, and then soak the fruit overnight. After the fruit is softened, you can grind it into pulp.
There are many stone mills in the countryside. The brigade has a big stone mill, and many families also have their own small stone mills.
The Wen family has one. The original owner's father personally went to the mountains to find stones and then carved them. It is placed in the main hall and is usually covered with a bamboo cover to prevent dust when not in use. It is very precious.
When Wei Dai arrived, Wen Jiajia was grinding, so he took over the job.
Seeing that his forehead was covered with sweat, Wen Jiajia went to the room to get him a piece of paper and asked him to wipe it himself.
She asked quietly, "What's your business this time? I hope no one saw you when you came in."
Wei Dai glanced at her and said helplessly: "No." They were clearly on a blind date, why did it seem like they were having an affair.
Besides, this matter cannot be kept secret. I met many people on the way back this time, unless he doesn't come here in the future.
He turned the mill handle with one hand and handed the bag to Wen Jiajia with the other, saying, "Autumn harvest is tiring. You should eat more during this time and don't treat yourself badly."
"What is it?" Wen Jiajia opened it and took a look. A strong fishy smell hit her nose. She looked closely and saw that it was bloody meat. "Huh!"
Her nose twitched and she quickly moved further away.
Wei Dai smiled and said, "It's wild boar. It's fresh wild boar that was just killed this morning. You can marinate it with some salt and eat it tomorrow."
Wen Jiajia was surprised when she learned that it was wild boar: "No wonder it tastes so strong, I have never eaten wild boar before." She had never eaten it in her previous life.
Just kidding, it's easy to get fined.
Wei Dai said, "There is a pheasant down there. I didn't kill it. I tied it up with a rope. You can keep it for two days before eating it."
Wen Jiajia's eyes lit up even more. She certainly liked pheasants more than wild boars. Wild boar meat was smelly and needed to be pressed with spices and stewed for a long time, otherwise it would not be as delicious as domestic pig meat.
But pheasants are different, they have a sweet taste, and although the meat is tough, it can be cooked through if stewed for a long time. And in a few decades, wild boars may still be legally available, but pheasants will be hard to find.
She put the bag in the kitchen and asked Wei Dai, "Did you kill all the wild boars and pheasants?"
Wei Dai: “Yes.”
His expression was indifferent, but Wen Jiajia could clearly see a hint of pride in it.
"Of course! With this skill, you'll never have to worry about not having meat to eat." Wen Jiajia was indeed envious. In this era of meat shortage, being able to get two kilograms of meat every now and then was already quite a feat.
"Give them all to me?" Wen Jiajia asked him with a squinting look in her eyes.
Wei Dai's earlobes turned red: "Of course I bring all these for you. Don't worry, I have more at home."
Wen Jiajia: "Then I'll give..."
He interrupted: "You don't need to give me the check. Just remember one more meal for me. If you have time, you can treat me to two meals someday."
Well, Wen Jiajia thinks it’s more cost-effective to pay money.
How should I put it? If they were dating, then it would be a waste. But now they were still in the stage of getting to know each other, so it wasn't really a relationship. But if they weren't, it was a bit ambiguous, so she hesitated.
Wei Dai lowered his head and turned the grinding handle faster and faster.
He is stronger than Wen Jiajia, and not only can he grind faster, but the pulp he produces seems to be finer.
"Okay, I'll treat you to dinner some other day."
Wen Jiajia went to the kitchen, took out the wild boar meat from the bag, put it in a wooden barrel and soaked it in water.
There weren't many condiments at home, so if they wanted to eat wild boar, they had to soak the blood out first. Then they tied one of the pheasants' feet and tied it in the backyard.
Wei Dai carefully clipped the wings, so the pheasant couldn't flap its wings even if it wanted to.
"Wei Dai, do you want to eat at my house today?" Wen Jiajia thought for a moment and shouted towards the main hall. If she wanted, she would knead some dough and let it rise, as the steamed rice at home in the morning was not enough.
"No, I have to go to the commune to help repair the tractor later."
Wen Jiajia poked her head out: "You are still a technical soldier."
Wei Dai smiled and said, "No, I just learned some car repair skills in the army."
"So when are you going?"
"I'll help you grind the Castanopsis before you leave."
After hearing what he said, Wen Jiajia stopped making the dough and simply lit the pot. After filtering the oak pulp, she would pour it directly into the pot to cook.
Wei Dai quickly finished grinding the Castanopsis and helped filter the slurry with gauze.
After finishing the two most strenuous tasks, he washed his hands and left with peace of mind.
Before leaving, he hesitated for a moment and said, "How about we go to the county town to watch a movie after the autumn harvest?" He was a little nervous, afraid that Wen Jiajia would refuse.
Wen Jiajia didn't mean to refuse, she just turned around and looked at him: "When are you going to the army? You should be back after the autumn harvest."
Wei Dai explained: "The autumn harvest is divided into three sessions. The first session lasts for seven days, and then there is a day off. I was still there during that time."
Wen Jiajia was surprised: "So it means the entire autumn harvest will take about 20 days?" She thought it would only take ten days or half a month.
In the original owner's memory, it was only half a month.
Wei Dai explained to her: "In fact, it takes about a month in total, but the really tiring days are only about ten days." When he saw Jia Jia's thin arms and legs, he was a little worried.
"Don't work too hard. The autumn harvest is very tiring." He thought for a moment and said, "Or you can find a way to go to the canteen. If nothing goes wrong, the brigade will open the canteen during the autumn harvest."
Wen Jiajia was tempted: "I'll go ask the team leader later." Working in the cafeteria must be easier than working in the fields.
However, Wen Jiajia arrived a step late. When she found the captain, someone to help in the cafeteria had already been found.
At this time, Wei Dai had already gone to the commune to repair his car, and the Castanopsis pulp in the gauze had been filtered and was waiting to be boiled in the pot.
A full pot would take at least half an hour to cook, and it would need to be stirred during the process, so Wen Jiajia went to the captain's house first to discuss the matter.
Fang Baoguo didn't understand her thoughts and said puzzledly: "Aren't you here to earn work points? I specially arranged for you to harvest rice."
If you want to earn work points, go to the canteen. During the autumn harvest, you can only earn three work points a day in the canteen. And those who work in the fields, even women, can earn 7 or 8 work points, and many even earn the full amount.
At that time, he was the first one to exclude Wen Jiajia.
Wen Jiajia stood there in a daze: Great sorrow!
She opened and closed her mouth, and finally said with a bitter face: "I want to earn work points, but I know myself, Captain. I definitely can't persist in the high-intensity autumn harvest."
"If there is any low-point job, you can assign it to me. I am not picky." She said hurriedly.
Fang Baoguo didn't care much: "It doesn't matter. You can get 3 work points on weekdays, so 5 work points will be enough. Many educated youth in the Youth House get 5 work points."
...It's enough, but if I only get 5 work points for a few days, I'll be almost useless.
"Besides, the autumn harvest hasn't started yet. How do you know you can't do it if you haven't tried? Qun Qun, your second sister, is the iron lady of our brigade and is well-known throughout the commune. She can earn 8 work points a day, sometimes 10, which is no different from many strong men."
Wen Jiajia scratched her head, it didn't make sense.
At this moment, Fang Baoguo felt that Fang Duotian was right. Young people still needed to be motivated.
If you can finish high school, what’s the big deal about 5 work points?
In control!
Wen Jiajia returned home with a grim face, and lit the stove while cursing, waiting for the castor oil in the pot to boil.
When steam started to rise from the pot, she would stir it with a stick.
The stirring was very strong and thorough.
The situation is almost over and I have vented my anger.
During this process, the castor oil pulp in the pot became thicker and thicker. When it was almost as thick as lotus root powder, Wen Jiajia felt it was ready.
At this moment, the kitchen was filled with the bitter smell of Castanopsis.
The thick bitter oak is poured into the mold used to make tofu during festivals, and it can be eaten after it solidifies.
Wen Jiajia was actually very skeptical. Could this thing really be eaten? She pinched a small piece and put it in her mouth to taste it. It was extremely bitter!
She immediately understood that this cake should be soaked in clean water and then fried with strong-flavored seasonings to suppress its bitterness.
Since the heavy autumn harvest cannot be avoided, we must first get the logistics in order.
In the evening, the sky is still as bright as in the afternoon.
Let’s ignore the Castanopsis tofu for now. It’s long-lasting and Wen Jiajia has no plans to eat it today.
What are you eating tonight? Let's eat meat.
Wen Jiajia picked up the pork that had been soaked in water for several hours, weighed it, and it weighed about three pounds.
Since it is three pounds, I will divide it into three portions. Two of them will be pickled with salt and eaten in the next few days, and the remaining portion will be used to stir-fry chili peppers tonight.
She originally wanted to make braised pork, but she had the main ingredients but not the side ingredients.
It has to be said that rural families of that era were extremely short of condiments and spices. She couldn't use various sauces to suppress the taste of wild boar, nor could she find cinnamon and peppercorns to do so.
Wen Jiajia did find a fragrant-leaf tree at the edge of the vegetable patch in the backyard, but its leaves were lush green, which looked strange no matter how she looked at it. She didn't understand why the Wen family didn't dry some of them to use.
As for the most common star anise, Wen Jiajia did find it in the cabinet, but it was so broken and moldy that it could not be broken any more. It crumbled into powder if she rubbed it with a little force.
Only the orange peel seemed to be of some use, after all, oranges were produced in abundance in the area, so there was still some orange peel. But Wen Jiajia was deeply suspicious that it was already expired. The shelf life of homemade orange peel was not two or three years, and a few months was the limit.
What if these dried fruits are from the year before last or the year before last? The tragedy of food poisoning is still imminent.
In desperation, I chose fried pork with peppers.
Wen Jiajia first put the soaked wild boar meat into the pot and cooked it, adding ginger, rice wine and wild onions to remove the fishy smell. When the meat soup turned white, she took out the wild boar meat.
At this point, the pork has been cooked thoroughly and the fishy smell has been removed a lot. It can be cut into thin slices and stir-fried with chili peppers and garlic sprouts.
She didn't go to work today, so Wen Chun and Wen Xuan didn't go to the nursery either.
The two girls had a crazy afternoon in the village. When they came back, they smelled meat and jumped around the stove with joy.
"Aunt! There are so many delicious foods at home." Wen Xuan's forehead was covered with sweat and her face was red, just like the unripe persimmons on the persimmon tree in the front yard.
The sorrow brought to them by the death of their family members has been almost forgotten by them. They only know that they have candy in the morning, meat in the evening, an egg every morning, and loach and eel every now and then.
Wen Chun couldn't wait to help divide the bowls. When Wen Jiajia brought the fried pork with peppers to the table, both of them were drooling into their bowls.
The wild boar was very chewy and the skin remained tough even after being cooked for half an hour.
There is not much fat in the meat and it is not greasy. It is actually a bit crispy and delicious when chewed.
It was lean meat, but still a little tough. But she cut it very thinly, so it wasn't tough at all, and it was indeed more chewy than domestic pigs.
Fried pork with peppers is a famous dish that goes well with rice. Wen Jiajia specially steamed some white rice to go with it today.
The meat soup with the aroma of oil and chili is soaked on the wood-fired rice. It is greasy, shiny, and fragrant, and tastes even better than meat!
The next day, autumn harvest.
Wen Jiajia was a little nervous and got up very early today.
She had a general understanding of it. The difficulty of autumn harvest was due to the lengthening of the battle line.
On weekdays, most team members start work before 7:30 and finish work before 5:30. They can also take a two-hour break at noon to recover their strength.
But the autumn harvest is different.
During the autumn harvest, people have to go to the fields before 7 a.m. and leave at 6 p.m., and the lunch break is shortened to an hour and a half, in the hope of harvesting as quickly as possible.
There is no other way. If it rains at this time, half a year's hard work will be destroyed.
Besides, everyone is waiting for food distribution.
It was nearly seven o'clock and the sky was already bright.
There were dewdrops on the grass beside the yard, hanging on the tips of the leaves, waiting to drip to the ground as soon as the morning breeze blew.
The tung tree leaves fell in the wind.
As the saying goes, one leaf heralds the coming of autumn. The withered yellow leaves indicate that autumn has arrived.
“Boom boom boom—”
The sound of gongs rang out in the village, and Wen Jiajia, who was at the entrance of the village, could also hear the rustling sound coming from the commune radio.
Soon, the song started on time.
"The East is red, the sun is rising..."
Wen Jiajia knew that it was almost seven o'clock.
She put her straw hat on her back, hung a towel around her neck, put on labor protection gloves, carried her big water bottle, took her rice bowl, and walked towards the village with a proud and confident look on her face.
Humph! If you don't want to go to the cafeteria, then don't go to the cafeteria.
A versatile blogger who can live anywhere.
—
Wen Jiajia was assigned to the rice field at the entrance of the village. Her task today was to harvest more than half an acre of rice.
This task was relatively easy for those in the village who were used to doing farm work, but it was extremely difficult for a farming rookie like Wen Jiajia.
She looked at the vast rice fields, and her heart finally died. Fortunately, she did not need to be responsible for the rice, otherwise her heart would have died, and her body would have died too.
"call!"
Wen Jiajia let out a long breath, rubbed her hands, bent down and started working.
She had harvested rice before, so she wasn't completely unable to do it, but she wasn't too experienced either. She stumbled at first, but it took her half an hour to get the hang of it.
In Wen Jiajia's opinion, there is no job in the world more difficult than being a farmer.
Even though she was wearing labor protection gloves, her palms were still burning after working continuously for half a morning. If she continued working, her palms would either be rubbed raw or blistered.
Of course, there is a high possibility that blisters will appear first and then the skin will be broken, neither of them can escape.
Then there was the pain in her waist, which felt like it had been hit by a heavy hammer. She thought that she would have to work a few harvests before her waist was injured, and she would suffer from back pain from then on.
The sun was getting hotter, and Wen Jiajia put on her straw hat.
During the autumn harvest period, everyone in the brigade, young or old, male or female, except children under six years old, the elderly over 60 years old, the sick and the logistics staff, was forced to go to the fields, including those lazy guys who were used to taking shortcuts.
Even students and teachers in schools have to participate in the autumn harvest.
When Wen Jiajia stood up with the support of her waist and walked with difficulty to rest under a tree at the edge of the field, she looked around and saw people everywhere in the vast field.
Like diligent ants, they are storing food for themselves for the winter.
Is she tired? Yes.
But everyone is so tired.
Perseverance and hard work. She seemed to see the most concrete scene of these eight words.
She took a sip of water and leaned against the tree trunk, letting the sweat flow into her clothes and wet them.
The towel could no longer cope with such heavy sweating, and she needed to drink a lot of water to avoid dehydration.
After one morning, Wen Jiajia drank all the water and harvested two-thirds of the rice.
Before going to the canteen to eat, she needs to move all the harvested rice to the open space.
After the rice is harvested, a piece of land will be cleared. In the afternoon, a threshing barrel will be placed on the land, and the team will arrange people to thresh the rice.
"Jia Jia, let's go eat!" The auntie from the neighboring field called out, "If you go too late, the food will be gone."
Yes!
Wen Jiajia didn't even bother to stack the rice neatly. She picked up her precious water bottle and rice bowl and hurried to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria is next to the brigade headquarters, and it takes five or six minutes to walk there.
Wen Jiajia met a lot of people on the way, and without a doubt, the water bottle in her hand was the most eye-catching.
A lady asked, "Jia Jia, where did you buy this kettle? It can hold so much water." She had seen it some time ago, but she had heard that Jia Jia went to and from work every day to check out the site, and never came to the old camphor tree to chat with the villagers, so she couldn't ask even if she wanted to.
Wen Jiajia was so tired that she kept rubbing her arms. She paused for a moment and said, "It's a kettle. I bought it when I was in the county town."
She has another one at home, which was synthesized during this period, and she is kind of thinking about selling it.
Unfortunately, this lady just asked and didn't show any intention to buy.
However, the educated youth following behind took a few more glances at the kettle. She didn't seem to have seen this style of kettle in the county supply and marketing cooperative. Could it be that it was circulated privately from other places?
Wen Jiajia noticed her gaze, looked back, then turned around and continued walking.
That's why it's hard for her to sell her synthetic products, because the styles of synthetic products are different from what's on the market now! At least different from what's in the county.
Even the thickness of the pot is different from that sold in the county supply and marketing cooperative, which she only discovered recently.
So Wen Jiajia guessed that the synthesis system had other uses, but she hadn't discovered it yet and needed to continue researching it.
The canteen arrived soon.
The cafeteria is not small and can accommodate dozens of large round tables.
There was also a serving port near the kitchen. Wen Jiajia took a closer look and found that there were several large wooden basins next to the serving port, and the basins were full of vegetables.
What are you eating today?
Boiled cabbage in water, stewed tofu with mixed fish, and stir-fried pickled vegetables with chili peppers.
As for the staple food, it is sweet potatoes and rice.
Not to mention, the amount of rice given was quite a lot. People like Wen Jiajia who earned 5 work points could get half a bowl of rice and two sweet potatoes.
Even the dishes were better than what most people eat on a daily basis. At least Wen Jiajia wouldn't be able to eat tofu easily.
After finishing her meal, Wen Jiajia chose to go home to eat.
The only people with her were the educated youth, and the rest of the villagers were staying in the cafeteria.
The educated youth always kept to themselves, so when the group saw Wen Jiajia also carrying a bowl of rice back home, they were a little surprised.
"She is Sister Wen Qun's sister?" asked an educated youth.
"Yes." Chen Qianyue said with pity in her eyes, "Their family is so pitiful. Fortunately, she came. Chun'er and Xuanxuan have an aunt. Otherwise, the two sisters would not know what to do if they were left alone."
"Hey, Qianyue, you get along well with Sister Wen Qun. Can you help me ask Sister Qun where she bought her water bottle?" another educated youth asked.
Chen Qianyue rolled her eyes at her and said, "Where else can I buy a kettle? Of course, I'll buy it from the supply and marketing cooperative." Why didn't she ask about such a small matter?
"If it was bought from the supply and marketing cooperative, why would I bother asking you to ask? Her kettle can obviously hold more than the one bought from the supply and marketing cooperative."
Since her friends had said so, Chen Qianyue had no choice but to agree and decided to ask again when she had time.
Wen Jiajia returned home and boiled water before eating.
She decided to write down the purchase of a thermos in her notebook because she couldn't stand having to boil water whenever she wanted to drink it.
It is really difficult to adapt to this era when you are used to all kinds of electrical appliances in the 21st century.
Pour part of the boiled water into the pitcher and part into the kettle.
Wen Jiajia ate the meal she brought back from the cafeteria, and then went to the counter to get a piece of wild scallion meat pancake to fill her stomach.
The wild scallion pork pancakes were made this morning using the leftover meat from frying peppers yesterday.
Wen Chun and Wen Xuan seemed to love eating pasta very much. They ate a large piece of cake as big as their faces each, and also had half a bowl of egg soup.
No wonder Chen Ai told her this morning that Wen Chun and Wen Xuan looked a lot heavier when they weighed themselves. How could they not gain weight if they ate like that?
Taking a nap is a good way to restore your energy.
Wen Jiajia had never taken a nap in her entire life, but today was an exception. She fell asleep almost as soon as she touched the pillow, experiencing the feeling of falling asleep in seconds.
Perhaps it was the biological clock that was at work, the oversleeping that Wen Jiajia was worried about did not happen.
There was still half an hour before she had to go to work. Looking at the glaring sunlight on the patio, she did not go early, but instead cut the Castanopsis tofu soaked in water into thin slices.
After soaking for nearly a day and a night, the bitter taste of the Castanopsis tofu must have been eliminated a lot.
Wen Jiajia had quick hands and quickly cut all the Castanopsis tofu. Then all she had to do was put the Castanopsis tofu slices in the sun to dry.
It took ten winnowing baskets to make several pieces of Castanopsis tofu. Thinking that there was no sunlight in the backyard in the afternoon, she placed the winnowing baskets filled with Castanopsis tofu slices in the front yard.
There was not enough space in the front yard, so two dustpans were placed on the patio.
It just so happens that the days have been sunny these days, so after three to five days of sun exposure, we can collect them and save them for later consumption.
The gong sounded again, and it was time to go to work again.
Wen Jiajia got up from the bamboo chair with a sigh and resigned herself to going to cut rice under the scorching sun.
Life is so hard.
—
The afternoon is undoubtedly more miserable than the morning.
In less than half an hour, Wen Jiajia's exposed skin was sunburned red and showed signs of slight pain.
At the same time, she was dizzy from the sun and she deeply suspected that she was suffering from heat stroke.
Sure enough, she felt dizzy and wanted to vomit after work.
"It's like this at the beginning." Zhang Xiuli said, "You're not used to it yet. Those educated youth in our team collapsed in the fields when they first arrived. Jiajia, you are much better than them."
Wen Jiajia, who was squatting by the ditch and vomiting non-stop, said: …
How else is she going to get used to it?
Wen Jiajia covered her head and said, "Auntie, do we have sick leave during the autumn harvest?"
"What's fake?"
"Sick leave. Can I take a leave when I'm sick?" Wen Jiajia was afraid that she would collapse in the field.
"You can ask for leave, but since you have heat stroke, you only need to rest for one night. Don't fall behind on your mission field work if you can."
Wen Jiajia vomited again.
Oh my God, can you please send a bolt of lightning to kill her?
You have to eat. Even if you feel unwell, you have to go to the cafeteria to get food.
The cafeteria was bustling with activity, and at a glance, the players were competing with each other.
However, some of the educated youth who came in later were as depressed and half dead as she was.
Wen Jiajia didn't want to say anything at all. She isolated herself from the crowd and went straight home after finishing her meal.
She couldn't even hear someone calling her from behind.
"Wen Jiajia!"
I got home, opened the gate, and someone came out from behind.
She panted and pleaded, "Comrade Wen Jiajia, why can't you hear me when I call you?"
Wen Jiajia was stunned for a moment: "I'm sorry, I was thinking too hard. But who are you?"
Chen Qianyue smiled and said, "It's okay. My name is Chen Qianyue, and I'm an educated youth in the village."
Wen Jiajia invited her in: "Hello, Comrade Chen, what can I do for you?" She didn't want to exchange pleasantries and just wanted to lie down.
Chen Qianyue: "I was asked by someone to ask you where you bought your kettle."
Wen Jiajia became more energetic, put down the bowl in her hand and said, "I asked someone to buy it for me when I was in the county. So, does the person who asked you to ask want to buy it?"
She began to set a price in her mind.
Chen Qianyue nodded: "Yes. She thinks your kettle is bigger than the ones sold in the supply and marketing cooperative, and is more to her liking."
Wen Jiajia said, "Then I'll help ask some other day."
Xiang Xiang said, "When I bought it, it was an industrial ticket plus 12 yuan. You can discuss it with your friend first. If she is willing to accept it, I will ask her."
Chen Qianyue thought the price was okay, and she would have bought it if she already had a kettle.
After the chat, Chen Qianyue didn’t stay long.
She noticed that Wen Jiajia was feeling uncomfortable, and couldn't help feeling that she had been inconsiderate and had come at the wrong time.
For someone like Wen Jiajia who was harvesting in autumn for the first time, she must have felt like she was dying. She understood this feeling best, so she left in a hurry.
After she left, Wen Jiajia didn't care about the meal anymore, she went back to her room and fell asleep. She didn't wake up until Wen Chun and Wen Xuan came back.
Because of the arrival of autumn harvest, the nursery's school hours are extended.
It was already late at night, and the children were sent home by the teachers in the nursery.
The teacher who sent Wen Chun and Wen Xuan home was still Chen Ai. Wen Jiajia guessed that Chen Ai's family conditions must be very good. Her clothes were especially well-fitting and well-tailored. Her hair was also black and shiny, and her skin was rosy and shiny. It was obvious that she had no worries about food and clothing.
Wen Jiajia sighed in her heart.
No matter what time of year, there are always people who are having a good time.
"Are you hungry?" she asked the two girls.
Wen Xuan was the one who took advantage of the situation and immediately hugged her legs and shouted, "I'm so hungry."
Just because you’re hungry, eat!
Wen Chun and Wen Xuan had dinner in the cafeteria, and Wen Jiajia also took their portions back.
There is no need to work at night, so the meal is still not as rich as at noon.
What do you eat? Stir-fried fermented vegetables and beans.
Fortunately, there was enough oil and water in the dish, and it was "fried" instead of "boiled", so Wen Jiajia had no difficulty swallowing it.
Autumn harvest often starts at about the same time.
When the autumn harvest in Fuyang Brigade begins, the autumn harvest in Hegou Township is also about to begin.
Tian Junxia's mother, Grandma Tian, has been feeling quite uncomfortable these days. She found a few suitable girls for the Wei family and wanted to introduce them to Wei Dai before the autumn harvest, but who would have thought that they would not show interest in the girls and would not accept them.
The question is whether you already have a blind date partner.
When asked again who the target was, Wei Dai remained silent, as if he had become mute.
She felt that he was playing a trick on her, an old lady.
Wei Dai's parents also felt that their son was playing a trick on them. If not, why didn't he even tell them who he was going on a blind date with?
"You are old now, and it's time to prepare. Otherwise, all the good girls will get married, and I wonder who you will marry then." Cai Ruyun said earnestly.
Wei Chengcai nodded, affirming his daughter-in-law's statement.
Wei Dai's face was calm: "I'm getting ready."
"Where to prepare?"
"Prepare in private."
After Wei Dai finished speaking, he turned around and walked out with the fish basket, making his parents behind him so angry that they almost had a heart attack.
He came to the river, took off his clothes and jumped into the water, swimming in the river like a nimble fish.
Soon, there were two more fish in the fish basket, and he planned to send them to Wen Jiajia tomorrow. Today was the first day of the autumn harvest in Fuyang Brigade, and he didn't know how she was adapting.
On the way home, I met an old man who was packing up his boat and taking it home.
"Wei Dai, let's go fishing."
"Yes, uncle will give you one?" he said as he handed over one.
The uncle waved his hands and said, "We have two at home. You can keep them for yourself."
There is no shortage of fish in the area near the river. The rule is that private nets are not allowed, but it is still possible for individuals to go into the water to catch fish.
"Then you go ahead and be busy. It's getting dark now, so go slowly." Looking at his uncle's back as he left, Wei Dai seemed to be thinking about something.
When he got home, he casually asked, "Dad, did our team catch a lot of fish this year?"
Wei Chengcai is the one in the team who often goes to the ground to fish. He knows best whether there are many fish or not.
"There are a lot. Catching was not allowed in the past few years, but was allowed last year. This year there are especially many." Speaking of this, honest man Wei Chengcai showed a rare satisfied and proud smile on his face.
Their Hegou Township is close to mountains and rivers, and they have had enough food in recent years. Even if they can't eat pork, they always have fish.
Wei Dai: "Are they all sold to the factories in the county?"
Wei Chengcai tapped his cigarette stem and nodded: "There are also a few supply and marketing cooperatives."
Wei Dai saw his niece swatting mosquitoes, so he went inside to get a handful of dried mugwort, lit it and smoked it around. He then asked, "I see the autumn harvest has already started nearby, why haven't you thought of selling it to the canteens of those brigades? This way, we can also improve our relationship with the nearby brigades."
Wei Chengcai was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and lit a cigarette: "I don't know."
Wei Dai didn't expect his father to be able to tell him anything. His father was an honest man who only cared about working but not using his brain.
So Wei Dai went to the captain's house again.
The captain of Hegou Township was also surnamed Wei, a relative of Wei Dai. He was very surprised at Wei Dai's arrival.
"Have you eaten? Is there anything wrong?" Wei Chengsong asked. Then he brought him a stool and asked his son to pour him some water.
Wei Dai hurriedly said, "Uncle, please don't be in a hurry." Then he took the cup of water with both hands.
He said, "I just wanted to ask about the fish in our team."
"Fish?" Wei Chengsong was puzzled. "What's wrong with the fish?"
Wei Dai: "Look, everyone is harvesting recently, and almost all the brigades have opened canteens. Chen Dun's tofu shop has made a lot of money. Can we also sell the fish in our team to the brigade?"
This... is not impossible.
To be honest, it is better to sell to the nearby commune brigades than to the factories in the county town.
First, most people in the communes are related to each other, so it is easy to talk to each other, and people will not look at you with their eyes on the top of their heads.
The second is to gain favors and exchange resources.
Don't underestimate the brigade, it also has resources. Just like Hegou Township, people live by the river, and the fish farming and fishing industries are booming.
The Chendun Brigade next door has a good bean industry, producing tofu and dried tofu every day. It is said that tofu skin has been sold to the provincial capital.
There is also the Nanhu Brigade, which opened a chicken farm. Most of the eggs sold in the county stores come from Nanhu.
What does Fuyang Brigade have? Wei Dai thought about it carefully, but couldn't come up with an answer for a while.
But it doesn’t matter, we will never fall behind the Fuyang Brigade.
Wei Chengsong pondered for a moment and said, "We don't have that much fish. If we supply it to the nearby brigades, there will be more people fishing every day." And we have to cut off a portion of the fish for the factory.
It was easy to talk to the factory, after all, it was the seller's market. But the autumn harvest was coming soon, and the team members had to go to the fields. Every minute and every second was precious, so he had to make some plans.
Wei Dai saw his dilemma and gave a timely suggestion: "This is a good thing for those brigades. They are short of oil and water for the autumn harvest, so they can send people to pull it. They should be willing to do it for the fish."
Wei Cheng paused and nodded.
Just think about it in your mind, what is Wei Dai trying to do by going through so much trouble to say all these things and to facilitate all these things?
I can't figure it out and I can't understand it.
Well, never mind, I don’t want to think about it anymore!
The next day.
Wei Dai arrived at the Fuyang Brigade early under the pretext of communicating with these brigades, but he still took a small road.
So when Wen Jiajia opened the gate and saw him, she was really shocked.
Good boy, it’s dawn!
Wen Jiajia grabbed him and held the door tightly, then stuck her head out and stared outside the door nervously.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that there was no one there.
Then she turned around and glared at him, snorting fiercely: "You are such a jerk! You almost scared me to death. If someone sees you coming at this time, I really can't explain it."
After saying that, she hurriedly dragged him back to the house. The wall was too low, and if someone passed by, they would still see the tall man.
"etc……"
"What are you waiting for? Don't talk yet." The Chen family next door has sharp noses and ears. What if they hear the sound?
It was not yet daybreak, so the main room was still dark.
Wei Dai's eyes were shining, and he fixed his gaze on Wen Jiajia.
Wen Jiajia let go, yawned and asked: "How long have you been here? Is there anything important?" If it wasn't something urgent, she would have hit him twice!
She had just gotten up and had just started the fire. Even her hair was messy and hanging on her shoulders, which showed how early it was.
Wei Dai handed the fish in his hand to her and walked out again without waiting for Wen Jiajia to ask.
Wen Jiajia was so angry that she said, "Wei Dai!"
You came here so early in the morning just to deliver two fish? And what else? Are you leaving again without saying a word?
Wei Dai said helplessly: "My car is still at the door." What if he doesn't push it in and gets discovered?
He was about to speak, but she interrupted him again.
Wen Jiajia was speechless and was really impressed.
kitchen.
She placed the two fish that Wei Dai brought in a water tank. The fish were probably transported in buckets and were still alive.
The fish was grass carp, one weighed more than three kilograms, and one kilogram was almost four kilograms. Wen Jiajia wanted to eat boiled fish, but unfortunately there was no boiled fish ingredients.
But it doesn’t matter, pickled fish will work too.
She found that the pickled vegetables made by the Wen family had a strong sour taste, so it should be possible to use them to make sauerkraut fish.
"Where did you push the car? Don't leave it in the yard." Wen Jiajia asked Wei Dai after he walked in. "Also, the gate to the yard must be closed."
Wei Dai's eyes were busy and his hands were busy. Seeing Jia Jia washing green onions, he went over to help and took the green onions from her hand.
"The water is too cold. I'll do it." He said, "The car is by the patio. The gate is locked. Even the door to the house is locked."
Wen Jiajia was relieved. Then she looked at Wei Dai and asked him to give her an explanation.
Wei Dai saw that her eyebrows were about to rise, so he finally stopped teasing her and said with a smile: "I came to your village to discuss something. If the discussion is successful, you can work less in the fields."
Wen Jiajia was stunned at first, then smiled and said, "What are you talking about?"
As soon as Wei Dai mentioned the fish selling business, Wen Jiajia understood immediately.
This is a job assigned to her to transport fish.
Are you tired? Yes, but it is definitely easier than working in the fields, and it can also make the villagers speechless.
Wei Dai asked her, "Can you catch the car?"
Wen Jiajia shook her head.
Wei Dai thought for a moment and said, "It's okay. I'll take you."
In the morning, I had wild onion egg pancakes with sweet potato porridge.
Use the last bit of flour at home to make a batter, beat in two eggs, add chopped wild onions, and then put it in the pot to stir.
Wen Jiajia has always wanted to have a frying pan. Her family often makes pancakes, and having a frying pan would be much more convenient.
But due to lack of materials, or perhaps lack of luck, it could not be synthesized.
Watching him make breakfast, Wei Dai had a new understanding of Wen Jiajia.
She is a real handy person.
Before making each pancake, a spoonful of oil is put in the pan to make it shiny and greasy. You can imagine how delicious the pancakes made in this way are.
What about sweet potato porridge? It has more rice and less sweet potatoes, and the sweet potatoes are just there to add sweetness.
Wei Dai was observing Wen Jiajia, and Wen Jiajia was also observing Wei Dai.
If Wei Dai dared to complain and give her orders at this moment, she would immediately pay him back and throw away his fish, and tell him to get out of here as far as possible.
Fortunately, both the money and the fish were saved.
The sky gradually brightened, and the transparent moon in the sky completely disappeared.
Wen Chun and Wen Xuan got up and followed the smell to the kitchen, where they were frightened by Wei Dai.
The two girls still remembered eating his candy, but they were confused and at a loss for what to do when someone showed up in their home so early in the morning. So they just leaned against Wen Jiajia's legs, hid behind Wen Jiajia, and looked at him warily.
Like a puppy whose territory has been invaded.
They want to drive him away, but because they are too weak, others just think they are cute.
Wen Jiajia laughed so hard that she fell backwards. She rubbed the two children's cheeks and said, "Eat, eat! He eats a lot. If you don't eat, he will eat up all the food in our house."
Wei Dai sat down in a familiar manner and said to Wen Jiajia, "This will be considered as a meal discount."
Wen Jiajia raised her eyebrows and made a calculation!
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